Gordon Brown Insists British Troops in Afghanistan Have Enough Helicopters
PM denies he has failed to prepare the country for the recent spate of British military casualties
Gordon Brown clashed today with the outgoing Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown when he insisted British troops in Afghanistan had enough helicopters for the tasks they faced, and denied he had failed to prepare the country for the recent spate of British military casualties.
The prime minister said those deaths were not due to a lack of helicopters. He also rejected Malloch-Brown's suggestion that the true threat from al-Qaida lay in Somalia and Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
Malloch-Brown was forced to retreat from comments he made in an interview in the Telegraph in which he said "we definitely don't have enough helicopters", and claimed "mobility" was crucial for the dangerous operations.
In a statement an hour before Brown's regular Downing Street press conference, Malloch-Brown, who is leaving the government at the end of this week, said his comments had been misunderstood.
A few hours after Brown spoke, the Ministry of defense announced that another British soldier had died in an explosion in Helmand, taking the British military death toll in Afghanistan to 19 in this month alone. The soldier, from the 1st Battalion Cold stream Guards, was killed while on patrol in Nad e Ali district.
In his statement before Brown spoke to reporters, Malloch-Brown said: "On the issue of helicopters in Afghanistan, I was making the point – as the prime minister and commanders on the ground have also done – that while there are without doubt sufficient resources in place for current operations, we should always do what we can to make more available on the frontline."
Malloch-Brown, whose responsibilities at the FO include Afghanistan, said this was "a high priority" for the prime minister.
The prime minister, speaking of Operation Panther's Claw, said: "I am satisfied it has the resources it needs to be successful and I think the fact that it is yielding results already shows it is the case." He insisted the fight could not be won from the air, saying: "We have to take ground and hold ground." He repeated his call for speeding up training of the Afghan army and police. "It is completely wrong to say the loss of life is due to the absence of helicopters and that is being confirmed by officers on the ground," he added.
But Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said that Malloch-Brown's initial assessment was correct: "It is abundantly clear that we are asking our troops to fight a war for which labor has not properly equipped them. Lord Malloch-Brown was right to make his criticism, but now we see the pathetic spectacle of him rowing back under pressure from No 10".
The prime minister denied that he been in contact with Malloch-Brown to force him to back down.
Adding to the criticism over resources today , however, was a former commander of British troops in Helmand, Brigadier Ed Butler, who said: "I think the wider campaign in Afghanistan – and this has been the case from the early days – has been insufficiently resourced to undertake a proper counter-insurgency."
Butler told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that he had warned at the time that if there were a counter-insurgency operation "more helicopters, more intelligence and more boots on the ground" would be needed.
Also Today the explosives expert who became the 18th fatality in Helmand this month was named as Captain Daniel Shepherd. The 28-year-old from Lincoln was killed by an explosion in Nad e Ali district, the MoD said. Shepherd, who was married, spoke in an interview with ITV News last month about the risks arising from remotely detonated bombs.
The prime minister said those deaths were not due to a lack of helicopters. He also rejected Malloch-Brown's suggestion that the true threat from al-Qaida lay in Somalia and Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
Malloch-Brown was forced to retreat from comments he made in an interview in the Telegraph in which he said "we definitely don't have enough helicopters", and claimed "mobility" was crucial for the dangerous operations.
In a statement an hour before Brown's regular Downing Street press conference, Malloch-Brown, who is leaving the government at the end of this week, said his comments had been misunderstood.
A few hours after Brown spoke, the Ministry of defense announced that another British soldier had died in an explosion in Helmand, taking the British military death toll in Afghanistan to 19 in this month alone. The soldier, from the 1st Battalion Cold stream Guards, was killed while on patrol in Nad e Ali district.
In his statement before Brown spoke to reporters, Malloch-Brown said: "On the issue of helicopters in Afghanistan, I was making the point – as the prime minister and commanders on the ground have also done – that while there are without doubt sufficient resources in place for current operations, we should always do what we can to make more available on the frontline."
Malloch-Brown, whose responsibilities at the FO include Afghanistan, said this was "a high priority" for the prime minister.
The prime minister, speaking of Operation Panther's Claw, said: "I am satisfied it has the resources it needs to be successful and I think the fact that it is yielding results already shows it is the case." He insisted the fight could not be won from the air, saying: "We have to take ground and hold ground." He repeated his call for speeding up training of the Afghan army and police. "It is completely wrong to say the loss of life is due to the absence of helicopters and that is being confirmed by officers on the ground," he added.
But Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said that Malloch-Brown's initial assessment was correct: "It is abundantly clear that we are asking our troops to fight a war for which labor has not properly equipped them. Lord Malloch-Brown was right to make his criticism, but now we see the pathetic spectacle of him rowing back under pressure from No 10".
The prime minister denied that he been in contact with Malloch-Brown to force him to back down.
Adding to the criticism over resources today , however, was a former commander of British troops in Helmand, Brigadier Ed Butler, who said: "I think the wider campaign in Afghanistan – and this has been the case from the early days – has been insufficiently resourced to undertake a proper counter-insurgency."
Butler told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that he had warned at the time that if there were a counter-insurgency operation "more helicopters, more intelligence and more boots on the ground" would be needed.
Also Today the explosives expert who became the 18th fatality in Helmand this month was named as Captain Daniel Shepherd. The 28-year-old from Lincoln was killed by an explosion in Nad e Ali district, the MoD said. Shepherd, who was married, spoke in an interview with ITV News last month about the risks arising from remotely detonated bombs.
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